Healthy Hair practices for educated Consumers

I am surprised after talking with clients, and visiting various Salons in the local area regarding Healthy Hair Coloring Practices, there doesn’t seem to be much emphasis placed on this! Coloring Hair requires careful preparation before and after processing to get the most effective and healthy results. As a practice, our Salon follows simple guidelines the day any client gets their Hair Colored / High-lighted at the Shop:

1. Hair is pre-washed without any additional products applied , that includes conditioner, gels, hairspray, etc. Why? Any products other than a clean pallet on the Hair could react with the colorant and could leave an unpleasant color surprise result. Also, conditioner on hair, leaves a protectant film, and this film limits the ability of the color to truly penetrate the hair shaft. It’s kind of like trying to stain wood that has been previously coated with Shellac. The end Coloring result will be short lived.

2. Hair color processing time will vary slightly by the manufacturer of the product and the volume of peroxide used, but a good range is between 20 – 45 minutes after application is done is pretty much a good rule of thumb.

3. At no time should Heat be applied during this processing time. I have seen and heard that a common practice at other establishments is to place a processing client under a heated dryer to shorten the processing time for quicker results. This is the quickest way to destroy your hair and cause hair breakage or worse. This is not just our opinion, but straight from the manufacturers of all the coloring products. See picture taken from a popular Salon Hi-lighting product ” DO NOT USE HEAT”. Do you ever wonder why you were placed under the heated dryer? Well, there are many reasons and answers to this: your stylist wanted a smoking or lunch break, wanted to get you quickly done to get more clients in their chair or has another client waiting for them; there is no benefit for your hair! This one mistake is one of the most common reasons there are so many Salon visitors are walking around with damaged hair.

4. After the processing time is reached the hair is rinsed thoroughly, our Salon only applies conditioner, not shampoo for the client. It is important that you should refrain from washing hair with shampoo for at least 48-hour period. But in the mean time, our clients are advised to wash their hair with water and conditioner if they like to shower everyday.